


Sacred Simplicity

by arabmorgan



Series: A Little Happiness [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Iron Man 3, Post-Thor: The Dark World, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 11:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8011654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arabmorgan/pseuds/arabmorgan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As always, it's the minutes unseen and the seconds in between that matter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Loki is a Dunce

**Author's Note:**

> Just a few completely random drabbles that I happened to write. As with White Winter, these can be read as standalones, although they were written with [Dog Days](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7510294) dynamics in mind.
> 
> Probably none of these are going to be more than 1,000 words; the two that are written definitely aren't.

It was a rather novel sensation for Loki to awake with Tony all but draped over him like a poor excuse for a blanket.

It simply wasn’t something either of them did. For one thing, it tended to leave Loki feeling slightly overheated; besides, he was of the opinion that throwing a single arm and leg over him was more than enough to indicate possessiveness. This unseemly _clinging_ was hardly necessary.

For some reason, however, Tony had clearly seen fit to throw himself across Loki at some point in the night.

Brows furrowing, he shifted slightly – not with any particular intent, but merely to test how Tony would react to an attempt to get out of bed.

The man grunted, one of his arms twitching involuntarily as if to grab hold of Loki, before the motion was aborted and he settled into motionlessness once more.

Loki rolled his eyes, faintly amused. “Tony, I know you are awake.”

There was silence for a second, before Tony lifted his head very slowly, looking put out. “Do you have some sixth sense or something?” he grumbled, although he made no move to relieve Loki of his burden.

“It is enough for me to know you,” he said dryly in response. “Now, is there a reason for your current position?”

Tony’s brows raised challengingly, a sure sign that he was up to no good. “Uh, maybe I’m feeling horny?” he tried unconvincingly.

Loki frowned, keeping his stare level, knowing that there was no need to call out _that_ blatant untruth.

Tony, well-practiced as he was with facing Loki’s stares, took a long while to crack – but it was an inevitable occurrence. “Fine,” he snapped, sounding oddly defensive. “I just felt like it, okay? Don’t you like it when I touch you?”

“Of course I do.” Loki couldn’t help smiling just a little, one of his hands stroking Tony’s lower back lightly. “This is just…odd, that is all.”

“It’s good for couples to try new positions regularly,” Tony said sagely, his good humour returning swiftly. “Keep the relationship fresh and all that.”

“Indeed,” Loki responded dryly, long accustomed to his lover’s frequently irrelevant statements. “I do hope you haven’t forgotten that I intended to leave for Muspelheim this morning. Travelling is always easier when I’ve just awoken.”

Tony’s gaze dropped, smile fading, and he gave a noncommittal hum of acknowledgement.

It always amused Loki to see Tony sulk like a child, and he leaned up to press a kiss to the man’s cheek. “I will return within three months,” he promised. “The time will pass before you can even blink.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Tony mumbled, his words muffled against Loki’s skin, and yet sounding vaguely rebellious all the same.

Loki lay still for a moment longer, eyes closed, trying to memorise the way Tony felt against him, storing up memories to sustain him during their time apart.

Then he sat up, Tony sliding off him reluctantly to sit amidst a tangle of sheets. Warm fingers trailed down his arm, clutching at his hand and squeezing hard; Loki looked over and smiled, a sudden wave of fondness for this incomprehensible Midgardian washing over him.

“I will miss you,” he said sincerely, pulling free and dressing himself easily in a shimmer of gold.

Tony stared at him for a moment, before the man’s familiar grin lit his face. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go have fun and stay safe,” he said, with a casual wave of his hand. “You’d better have lots of good stories to tell me when you get back.”

Loki laughed and raised a hand in farewell, before turning with an admittedly dramatic swirl of his cloak and stepping off Midgard.

He caught a last glimpse of Tony, just a fraction of a second before he left Midgard behind altogether – the fractured remnants of a smile on his face, his solitary figure almost bereft in the large room.

He thought of turning back then, just for another kiss – but the secret pathways spread out before him, drawing his full attention, and the notion dissipated.


	2. In Which Loki Makes His First Phonecall

Loki found it immensely interesting how his presence in the Tower no longer elicited looks of suspicion or alarm. Indeed, most of the Avengers seemed to regard him with distant courtesy, if not outright cordiality.

The memories of Midgardians were short indeed.

Not, he reflected rather wryly, that they had anything to fear from him at the moment. Besides, he suspected that mortals simply didn’t have the _time_ for grudges that spanned a dozen years or more.

The pathetic lifespan of Midgardians was not a subject he particularly enjoyed dwelling upon. It inevitably left him in a state of agitation, and with a need to see for himself that Tony was quite well.

But Tony was, at the moment, “out of state” – a phrase which meant little to Loki, except for the fact that it meant his lover was not as accessible (and defensible) as he would have liked.

He shifted uneasily in his seat, suddenly wishing that he was possessed of the means to contact Tony, but the birds of Midgard were far inferior to those of Asgard.

It took him a longer time than it should have to recall that Tony _had_ , indeed, left him a device for that very purpose. At that realisation, he immediately summoned the aptly named mobile phone to his hand, turning it over curiously twice. Only then did he begin to follow the steps Tony had guided him through, with his palm set upon the back of Loki’s hand, his body warm against the god’s back.

When a picture of the two of them appeared on the screen, along with Tony’s name (there had been many strange symbols and caricatures of expression accompanying the name previously, but Loki had insisted that the ‘emojis’ be removed), Loki lifted the phone to his ear, still slightly unsure.

It was a relief to hear the soothing tunes of the piano, which meant that the device was attempting to link his communication line to Tony’s.

The music continued for a longer time than Loki would have expected, but it was impossible to maintain any form of annoyance when Tony’s voice finally filtered through the wondrous machine.

“ _Loki?_ ” Tony sounded appropriately stunned, and a satisfied smirk curved his lips. “ _What are you – is something wrong?_ ”

“Nothing is wrong,” he replied calmly. “I merely felt like familiarising myself with this device you gifted me.”

“ _Yeah, gifted you like, two months ago! I would’ve flown off right away if I’d known that was all it took._ ” Tony sounded strange to Loki’s ears, like he was speaking in hushed tones, afraid of being overheard. And yet, he didn’t sound at all distressed – perhaps an unfortunate characteristic of all mobile phones.

“I would rather have you by my side,” Loki countered. “When are you due to return?”

“ _Uh…two more days, I think. I’m flying off tomorrow night._ ”

Loki’s eyes narrowed. Again, another odd response – he had expected some teasing at the very least, given his admission. Tony seemed to adore anything that suggested Loki was unable to survive without his presence – which was, of course, untrue.

He was faring perfectly well at the moment, as a matter of fact.

“Very well then. I shall see you in two days,” he said, hearing with some unhappiness the obvious coolness of his own tone, and not wanting to end the conversation on such a note. “I often leave you when I travel, but I am not accustomed to being the one left behind. It feels…different – I miss you in a different way.”

That earned a chuckle, at least. “ _I love you,_ ” Tony said, voice softening and dropping even lower, although the words remained confident, like he was stating the most obvious fact in the Nine Realms.

Loki found himself relaxing minutely, before an odd sound transmitting through the phone made his back straighten once more.

“Tony? What is that?” he demanded, pressing the phone against his ear as if it would help him to hear better. It sounded like…voices – excited ones, laughing and cheering, some even whistling.

“ _Um_.” Tony sounded both amused and resigned. “ _I’m giving a talk now, actually. The students are just kinda rowdy, you know? Apparently, they like public declarations of love from their guest speakers._ ”

One of Loki’s brows arched. “You need not have taken my call if you were busy.”

“ _I wasn’t about to miss your first call to me_ ,” Tony retorted. “ _Anyway, I should really go. They think they’re paying me by the minute, so the guy in charge is starting to look slightly grey in the face. Miss you, love you, okay?_ ”

Loki smiled. “Goodbye, Tony.”

As Midgardian inventions went, he supposed mobile phones weren’t completely useless after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so many things I want to write, like another scene for this collection, but also a Clint & Loki thing which I've been putting off forever. But good news, I wrote the golden apple thing that does not actually involve golden apples! So I'll be posting that soon, with another alliterative title :)
> 
> Fun fact: I only realised the alliterative thing after finishing Dog Days and White Winter; it wasn't actually intentional before that.


	3. In Which Loki Endorses Clichés

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this was supposed to be about Tony being annoying and clingy while tipsy, and Loki turning him back into a dog in a fit of annoyance, but it didn't quite work out the way I wanted to.
> 
> So you get this lump of unbearable sappiness instead :D

With a magical, ex-supervillain boyfriend, it actually wasn’t as hard as Tony would’ve thought to go out in public together.

A simple glamour, and _voila_!

But there was something to be said for walking out without fear, without hiding behind a stranger’s mask, that made Tony feel delightfully free, even if it _was_ close to midnight and no one was interested in taking a second look at two incredibly attractive guys taking a late night stroll.

They headed for the park as always – as much as Loki always blathered on about the dangers of being sentimental or whatnot, the god was _full_ of sentiment. It wasn’t like he’d outright claimed the park as their _special place_ or anything, but, well, Tony could tell anyway.

He couldn’t hold back a wide yawn as they sat down on one of Loki’s favourite benches, making the god toss a slightly amused look his way.

“What? I’m _tired_ ,” he said with an exaggerated sigh, slumping against Loki’s shoulder comfortably. “I swear, it must be National Supervillain Week or something. We’ve had attacks _every single day_. I’m exhausted.”

“I know,” Loki murmured, his voice soothing.

“Hey.” He straightened suddenly. “Thanks for helping out yesterday, by the way. I know you don’t like –”

“You needed the help,” the god cut in brusquely, brushing aside Tony’s thanks with a hint of irritability. He smirked anyway; really, Loki was just a huge softie under all his barbed words.

With a sigh, he tipped his head back, staring with unfocused eyes at the velvet night sky, framed by a spattering of leaves from the branch arcing over them.

And then, wonder of wonders, a pinprick of white light soared by overhead, its blazing tail trailing into nothingness. A shooting star.

He had officially just fallen into a sappy romance movie. A _shooting star._ Really?

He jolted back upright, determined not to miss this moment anyway. “Did you see that?” he demanded, grabbing Loki’s hand.

“See what?” The god shifted, following Tony’s gaze upwards.

“The shooting star! You know, great big burning meteor flying across the sky? You’re supposed to make a wish when you see one,” he said insistently, a slow smirk returning to his features. “Close your eyes and make a wish.”

“But I didn’t see it.” Loki sounded confused – and haughty. “And I am a god. I have no need for wishes.”

“Aw, come _on_ ,” Tony pressed, squeezing Loki’s hand lightly. “It’s a human thing. A _romantic_ human thing, and there’s a cliché related to it. I’ll show you if you make your wish.”

Loki’s eyes narrowed, fixing on Tony’s face as if to search out any deception, but slowly, cautiously, with obvious exasperation on his face, he closed his eyes.

Tony allowed his grin to emerge fully, and then, before his impatient god could open his eyes again, he swooped in.

He pressed his lips briefly but firmly to Loki’s, then immediately withdrew and fixed his eyes on the sky, ignoring Loki’s startled exhalation beside him.

“That was the cliché?” Loki, surprisingly, didn’t sound as disdainful about the whole thing as Tony had expected.

“Well, isn’t it sort of…lame? The whole ‘sneaking a kiss while the other person’s eyes are closed’ thing?” Tony laughed, relaxing back against the god.

“Hm.” Loki shrugged. “I like it.”

Tony brightened. “You do? Should I do it again?”

“Unfortunately, I do not see any other shooting stars around,” Loki pointed out with the slightest upward twitch of his lips.

“Ass,” Tony muttered.

“But,” Loki continued, as snootily as ever, “I _am_ a god. I would say that counts for more than a simple star.”

“You are _so_ full of shit,” Tony announced, but he leaned in for another kiss anyway.


End file.
